Al fresco Wedding

I know I am very late writing this review but I want everyone to know how amazing Beatrice from AL Fresco Weddings is and how happy I am with my choice. James and I got married in Italy on June 13th 2022. I knew what venue I wanted to get married in but that was the extent of my own planning. I found Al Fresco Wedding online and was very impressed with Beatrice's work and the amazing reviews left by previous clients. Throughout all the planning, I was in constant communication with her via emails and video chat. She was able to find me the most amazing vendors such as the florist who created the most dreamy arch, a cellist who played my favorite song and a vintage car rental that was truly special. She also found our stay which was beyond exceptional at the Lupaia Villa; a true heaven on earth. The only issue James and I had were our own faults with getting proper transportation to see the venue a few days before the wedding. We were unprepared in knowing what transportation was needed to get around Italy. Beatrice went above and beyond and picked us up at a bus stop and took us to see the venue. Throughout everything, she was beside us the whole time and treated us like family; which meant a lot as we eloped and had no family with us. If I could go back in time, I would not change a single thing. I look back with only fond memories of that day. Thank you Beatrice from the bottom of our hearts!

Much love,
Caroline and James

Let me start by saying that we hit the jackpot with Roberta! Wedding planning isn't just her job, it is without a doubt her life's passion. I know this because it shines through in everything she says and does. Aside from actually deciding to have our wedding, hiring Roberta was the best decision that we made.

Since we're based in Dubai, we only met once ahead of the big day in order to choose our venue but this was not a problem. The level of communication/ responsiveness received throughout was exceptional and every step of the process ran on-time.

There are many, many moving parts when it comes to planning an overseas wedding and Roberta not only simplified things but was also able to connect us immediately with some of the best suppliers and vendors in their respective industries. She had a clear understanding of our vision, was kind enough to guide us with her expertise and made every effort to ensure that all of our needs were met within the timeframe and budget outlined. I truly feel that our happiness and unique needs were a priority throughout.

Getting to know Roberta was also a joy. She gave so much of her time to drive us around Italy for a few days to do viewings / menu tastings and we were met with big hugs when we arrived. She is just one of the kindest, sweetest and most genuine people we've ever met. We had the best time and really built up a good personal relationship whilst working together.

When the day itself came, there isn't anything to report. Every single person was timely and professional - the day/ night and following day ran without a hiccup. Roberta was onsite and available all day long - even catering for on the spot requests as they came up such as; sourcing extra ribbon from the florist when I decided last minute to do the ribbon cutting bouquet toss or locating an extra speaker for our pool party. These were both arranged within the hour.

By now it should be clear that Roberta demonstrates a true sense of care for her clients which I believe is hard to come by these days. She is a fantastic woman in every way and we feel extremely lucky to have had the opportunity to get to know and work with her.

Roberta - we cannot thank you enough and would choose you every time. Wish we could do it all again! Love, Daryl & Daumantas xx

We used Roberta of Al Fresco Weddings for our wedding. We planned from USA and no matter the time difference, we set up meetings via video calls, emails, and used WhatsApp to create the wedding of our dreams! We cannot say enough great things about Roberta- she is attentive, helpful, always happy, and was just a true pleasure to work with! She kept us updated on all of her site visits and meetings with vendors, found us alternate vendors when the original did not have specific decorationss we were envisioning. For example, we wanted candelabras on the table centerpieces, and our original florist did not have them, so she found us a florist that did *And they were cheaper.* ALL of our vendors were outstanding and she helped us find each one. She provided us a list of options, we did our research on who we thought we would like *Which we ended up loving every single choice*, and she took care of the rest! She even took matters into her own hands the day of our wedding (of course, she asked our approval prior to committing), to dress up these umbrella structures because she knows we did not love them, but instead of having fairy lights lining the umbrellas, she placed linens to hide the sight of the umbrellas and made for an even more warm and romantic vision. (Photos attached for reference). Little decisions like that, that helped make her clients even more happy, make for a great planner! You want Roberta for your wedding; you will not be disappointed in your choice, we promise!

We simply found Beatrice and Alfesco Weddings with a Google search. She was the most prompt and organized of the Tuscan wedding planners we contacted. We were planning a one-week Tuscan villa event for 32 people with the wedding day itself and various events and meals at the villa, including day trips.

Then we started working with Beatrice and she was truly unbelievable...organized, meticulous, resourceful, attentive, funny and calm. She had amazing suggestions for different events and her list of contacts for suppliers from catering to music and lights is endless. She went to great lengths to ensure each supplier was a good fit for out "style".

We met her in Florence in November 2023 about 6 months before the wedding to stay at our selected villa, wedding dress selection and catering tastings.

The wedding week and the day were absolutely flawless. Beatrice came to every event during the week to make sure there were no hiccups and even translated for the officiant and danced with us until 1am.

We cannot more highly recommend and endorse Beatrice and Alfresco Weddings for your special day.

We met Liz for the first time in August 2019 to look at venues and to share our thoughts and wishes for our wedding with her. We immediately got along very well! She showed us fantastic venues but the last one we visited was love at first sight and the place we wanted to get married. As of then the actuall planning for our wedding in June 2020 started.
But then corona came and we had to postpone several times. During this time Liz and all our vendors were super supportiv and showed compassion for the situation. We were able to move everything until July 2022, that is when we finally got married and the weekend and the actual wedding day could’t have been more beautiful, it was magical and just fantastic! Liz has done an amazing job and we can highly recommend her to all couples wanting support with organizing their dream wedding! We have felt so well taken care of the whole journey, all vendors recommended and selected have been amazing and it was priceless having Liz, with all her wedding experience and knowledge, helping us getting everything with the wedding but also with all the administrative work done.
Everything went so smooth on the wedding day, we and our guests were able to enjoy and celebrate, we didn’t have to worry about a single detail, Liz and her team were handling everything and had everything under control!
Thank you so so much for everything Liz!!!

We had initially reached out to Beatrice and the Alfresco team in 2019 regarding our plans for a destination wedding in Tuscany in June 2020. She had been referred to us by a family friend, and after our initial call with her we were convinced that she was the ideal planner for us. Unlike the other planners we spoke with, she completely understood our vision and requirements from the beginning. She was very good with managing our crowd size and our budget and gave us excellent options to choose from. During our initial visit to view the locations she had arranged everything very efficiently and also arranged wine tours for us with transportation in Chianti after the viewings were completed.

Unfortunately, we had to delay our wedding due to the pandemic and Beatrice and her team were seamless in terms of arranging alternate dates and ensuring that our originally selected venue and vendors remained the same. She was very prompt in addressing any issues and there was nothing that couldn’t be rectified through a quick call or email exchange.

We were finally able to have our wedding in July 2022, almost 3 years after our initial discussion with Beatrice and we are very thankful that she patiently dealt with all the delays and rescheduling. Even once we were at the wedding venue we were expecting to have to oversee the setup or be responsible for some tasks here and there but Beatrice assured her that everything was taken care of. We did not have to worry about anything from the time we checked in to the time we checked out, and that was all thanks to Beatrice. She ensured that everything ran like clockwork and everything was where it was meant to be. The final setup was stunning and our guests still continue to rave about the wedding.

We would not have been able to have our wedding without Beatrice and her team and will always be grateful that we were able to make such wonderful memories in Tuscany.

We simply can’t thank Beatrice enough for the wonderful support she gave us throughout our wedding journey. From the first time we spoke with her, she went above and beyond. We were planning our wedding at relatively short notice and Beatrice instantly understood our vision, asked us all the right questions, and set about sourcing the right venue options, where she almost immediately came back to us with a selection of outstanding venues at short notice, their availability and detailed budget and capacity overviews. The venue she was able to secure us was just spectacular in every way – a fairy tale hilltop castle overlooking the Chianti hills – honestly better than anything we could possibly have imagined; so incredibly special, and a sentiment echoed by all of our guests.

Having worked to secure such a special venue, Beatrice’s support throughout the planning process was just brilliant. She was so proactive in bringing our ideas together, tracking every single thing that needed to be done and giving us excellent options to pick from at every stage; across the catering, florists, photographers, music, setting, accommodation options, and ancillary events around the wedding itself. She has a very extensive contact book across the Chianti region and is clearly respected by all of the regional vendors. Considering the short time frame, and that we were doing all of this remotely from the US, it simply couldn’t have been any smoother a process.

The big day itself couldn’t have been more seamless – it was clear Beatrice and all the vendors were very experienced working together and knew exactly what they were doing down to every little detail and minute – all overseen by Beatrice with her earpiece, constantly swishing around making sure everything was ticking along just perfectly. Not a single detail on the day was out of place, not a single even minor moment of stress. Such a slick operation. Considering how grand the result was, it blew our mind what an amazing job she did.

On top of all of that, she is just an incredibly kind, thoughtful, and easy person to deal with. If you’ve got this far, just book your wedding with Al Fresco weddings!! Bea and her team really care and they will absolutely deliver!

Again, grazie mille Beatrice!!!

Beijia & Alex x

We are NYC based and hired Al Fresco Wedding to help us plan our dream wedding in Tuscany which took place in Fall of 2023. Al Fresco assigned us wedding planner Francesca Caloni. Fran worked with us for over 18 months on every detail of the wedding: from selecting a venue & vendors (food for our guests, music, photography, videography, chairs/tables, flowers, lighting, bride hair/makeup) to tracking via budget to coordinating us paying these vendors internationally. Because we were planning for a destination wedding- Fran’s role was key to us having this once in a lifetime celebration. We found all of the vendors presented to us by Fran as great options and reasonably priced given the budget we presented to Al Fresco. We ultimately settled on the beautiful venue: Villa Catigano and were able to visit 1 year prior to the big day. On this trip, we met with Fran in person at Villa Catigano, we conducted a food tasting in Florence, and the Bride sat for a make-up trial. During the food trial, we spoke to Fran who discussed her passion for the wedding industry and helping her clients achieve their vision for their special day. We found all her suggestions honest and very helpful to our process. After a small hiccup with the make-up trial as the Bride was unhappy, Fran was able to quickly suggest an alternative make-up artist who was able to perform a new trial on short notice! This was very much appreciated because we had a flight booked and our time commitment was limited. Fran would go above and beyond for her clients. One example is she assisted in helping to choose a restaurant in Siena for a family dinner and booked a reservation for us with a special menu. Throughout the process, Fran communicated with us via zoom, email and WhatsApp and we always found her extremely responsive. When it came time to the big day, Fran was with us for all the key steps. We had gone over the plans several times and she made sure to check in with us on a handful of key decision points. We now consider her a good friend and would recommend her services to any couple planning their big day. Thank you Fran!, thank you Al Fresco!

Beatrice and her team brilliantly organized our destination wedding in Gaiole in Chianti. Everything was planned long-distance, so you can image the extra little stress that one can go... but with her, it was as if she was in the same city. She understood right away our vision and transformed into a dreamer's reality. She has an absolute sense of warmness and attentiveness that made our wedding planning process fun, enjoyable and stress free. She is an excellent listener, very resourceful, and always available. Whenever we had questions, doubts or suggestions, she would answer promptly regardless of the time difference.

The morning of the wedding day, when we were looking at the different teams setting up the event, that is when we truly realized that Beatrice and Al fresco Wedding team was the perfect choice - they were passionate, enthusiastic and very professional. When we finally had a glimpse at the final set up, it was simply breathtaking and beyond what we could have ever imagined. It was true perfection! In fact, it was so unreal that even our guests are still talking about how this event was the wedding of the century and the best they had ever attended. All this thanks to Beatrice and her team who made this day memorable and successful. My husband and I highly recommend Beatrice and her team, she is truly a genuine person.

I just wish I could give Bea and her team more than 5 stars. If you're looking for a perfect wedding with the minimum amount of effort, making sure that everything is cared for and looked after by a professional team, look no further! I remember we were hesitating between two wedding planners at first. We are so glad we chose Bea. Our wedding was the most amazing wedding we've ever been to, every detail was planned and cared for. If we had to do it again, we would not change absolutely anything. It is all thanks to Bea, her reactivity, professionalism, contacts and address book & initiatives. We were also lucky enough to celebrate our wedding with our kids, and they always remember Bea as the wonderful, kind and lovely woman that she is. We'll get back in touch for our anniversary!
Baci from Provence!

We live in the USA and do not speak Italian so we really had no idea where to start. We contacted several planners who were responsive but after our first Skype session with Beatrice, we felt an instant connection! I agree with the other reivews that she is the best value for the money! Beatrice asked the right questions about our vision and took the time to understand our needs. She never made us feel pressured but instead made us feel reassured that she would be with us every step of the way. Something inside of me told me I could trust her and really that created the foundation of our relationship. After the initial conversation, Beatrice started by suggesting several venues and took into account our feedback and thoughts. She helped us narrow down the venues to several candidates that we felt would fit our budget and criteria. A few months later, we arranged to visit the venues in person and finally met Beatrice. Wow, she was the most warm and caring person. You can tell she put her heart and soul into her job. She provided us with an agenda and took the time to discuss the pros and cons of each place. After that meeting, my fiancé and I were reassured that working with Beatrice was the best choice we made. In addition, what first started out as wedding planning for a day turned into a wedding week and Beatrice didn't get discouraged, she helped with each day even when it wasn't part of the initial request. She helped arrange vendors for big things such as venue, catering, flowers, etc to small things such as wedding favors and shuttles to and from the venue. She really went above and beyond any requests. I really could go on and on about how great the Al fresco team was. My guests literally have said that my wedding is the BEST WEDDING they have ever been to and there are plenty of pictures to prove it. Everything went without a hitch and I am still living on the high of the entire week. I really don’t think that I would have had such a special experience without Al fresco Wedding’s help!

Place your trust in Bea and she will not disappoint.

We planned a destination wedding in Florence on 28th May 2016 from Hong Kong. You can imagine the initial doubts and fear as we started the process but after working over a year and half with Bea, we had the perfect wedding one could only dream of.

I did a budget comparison, and interviews for the short-listed wedding planners prior to signing on with Bea, she is simply the best value-for-money choice and she genuinely loves her work, that is why she does not mind going the extra mile, making less profit for herself to give you the best. She was the first person I interviewed, and became my final choice after long weeks of talking with others.

If you are using a wedding planner, mutual trust is the most important thing, and Bea will slowly build a relationship with you, and you will be very comfortable with her. She is the perfect person for the role. I would recommend her to anybody who is planning to have a wedding in the Tuscany region, she is simply the best and there is no way you will not become friends with her and love her by the end of your perfect big day.

С Беатриче мы познакомились за две недели до реализации проекта. Она в срочном порядке искала ведущего на итальянско-русскую свадьбу и связалась со мной. Могу сказать, что с первой минуты разговора мне было легко, и мы быстро друг друга поняли, учитывая все особенности интернациональной свадьбы. В день свадьбы на площадке все работало как швейцарские часы, все было четко, комфортно, по таймингу, команда работала очень слаженно. Интернациональная свадьба, это всегда немного больше чем просто свадьба, у этих свадеб есть свои особенности, как культурные, так и организационные, и Беатриче понимает мгновенно как потребности клиента так и то, как нужно это все организовать. Было сплошным удовольствием работать с Беатриче и ее командой. Спасибо за твой профессионализм Беа. Буду рад новым совместным проектам с тобой и всей твоей командой Al fresco Wedding!

Ho conosciuto Beatrice due settimane prima della realizzazione del progetto. Cercava urgentemente un presentatore per un matrimonio italo-russo e mi ha contattato. Posso dire che dal primo minuto della nostra conversazione telefonica è stato un vero piacere per me, e ci siamo capiti sin da subito, tenendo conto di tutte le caratteristiche di un matrimonio internazionale. Il giorno del matrimonio è stato fantastico, dove tutto ha funzionato alla grande, nostra time-line era perfetta, tutta la numerosa squadra di Beatrice ha lavorato come un orologio svizzero!))
I matrimoni internazionale sicuramente hanno le loro caratteristiche, culturali e anche organizzative, Beatrice capisce al volo sia le esigenze del cliente sia come organizzare il tutto. È stato un enorme piacere lavorare con Beatrice e il suo team. Grazie per la tua professionalità Bea. Mi piacerebbe tanto in futuro realizzare nuovi progetti con te e con tutta la tua meravigliosa squadra di nome Al fresco Wedding!

Lavorare come fotografi per i matrimoni organizzati da Beatrice e Roberta è sempre un piacere. Gestiscono ogni dettaglio con precisione e passione, creando un'atmosfera magica.

We would like to thank Bea for all of the work she put into our wedding and for the amazing vendor recommendations that she gave us. Bea was always sweet and patient with us -- which we really appreciated.

We did have some things that we were not happy about -- we will just list here the issues so maybe it can help the next couples who will work with BeA Alfresco Wedding:

1. The guests needed to be guided more -- they were very confused, especially after the ceremony and just sat there for 10 minutes without any direction.

2. The wedding was behind schedule by a couple of hours -- which is not such a problem, except that we were stressed about keeping an eye on the clock and trying to get things back on schedule when it should have been up to Bea

3. Minutes before our wedding started We had To call the bus driver for the transport we had organized for our guests on the day of the wedding -- we expected Bea to take care of day-of details like this, but she did not.

4. The cake table was a bit of a disaster -- there were no napkins and no knife to cut the cake. So we stood there and had to ask guests to get something.

5. It would have been very useful for Bea to check the Bride's dress before she entered the Abbey, the dress was completely unhooked and slipping off -- and nobody was behind her to see it.

6. Bea never came to check on us during the wedding -- she came quickly to say hello or ask a question, but once the wedding started, we never saw her and even had to ask people to go look for her.

Overall we expected a lot more efficiency and attention to detail on the day of the wedding.